Neon Desert Music Festival 2019 Recap

A rundown of Neon Desert Music Festival 2019.

There were lots of new things that went down at Neon Desert Music Festival this year including the lineup and a new footprint and much more.

The Music

As with every year, NDMF does a really great job of selecting a good mix of music genres from hip hop, R&B, Reggaetón and much more. This year’s artists included Steve Aoki who walked the grounds on the first day unbeknownst to fans. Miguel sounded smooth and suave as a street full of fans sang along. Dashboard Confessional sounded impeccable and even covered songs by The Cure and Weezer to an over-enthusiastic and nostalgic crowd. On day two, Lovelytheband almost didn’t make the show as their flight was delayed but managed to make it on time and still played an amazing set. Chicano Batman scored new fans and got mad love from existing fans. While Wiz Khalifa was probably the artist who got the biggest crowd with fans singing along to every tune. On the local side, Ribo Ruckus, A. Billi Free, and even Roman Rouge among other locals got a chance to shine at this year’s festival.

The Food

Food trucks varied with plenty of selections including pizza, tacos, shawarma, brisket, wings, sweet treats and plenty of Clamatos and ice cold brews.

The Crowd

On day one the crowds came out in hordes, kids came in droves, getting dropped off by the entrance or via the El Paso Streetcar since it was free to ride with a festival ticket. The vibes of good times were certainly wafting through downtown as friends met up with friends, laughing and screaming when they would run into a familiar face. On the second day, the crowd was much tamer and relaxed than the night before but still excited enough to keep the party going all night. Overall Neon Desert Music Festival pulled in over 45,000 attendees this year – making it their biggest crowd to date.

The New Footprint

Neon Desert Music Festival moved its footprint this year and while it was much more expansive but that also meant a whole lot more walking. While there were more people this year, the footprint did allow for a better view at all stages.

The Fashion

This year ‘80s fashion was front and center, from neon colors to fanny packs, and big bold makeup was a recurring theme. There were even glitter stations to glitter bomb anyone interested for only $2. Music fans young and old dressed up or down and showed off all their best assets getting creative and colorful.

The Weather

The first day was warm but it was bearable while the second day was very windy. The weather was actually decent the whole weekend overall.

The Comradery

Fans were cool – no fights to speak of and everyone was on the lookout for each other. Even when the crowd swelled everyone seemed patient enough not to rush and paced accordingly as they made their way through the grounds.

The Art & Entertainment

This year Neon Desert Music Festival brought in local artists to paint and create, including a skate park, professional luchador wrestling which was a blast, to a silent disco area. There was plenty to see and do and actually, there was so much going on, I didn’t even get through it all myself.

The VIP

With the larger footprint the J&K VIP area also was bigger this year and offered plenty of amenities including complimentary massages, beauty bar, haircuts, all-day happy hour food and drink specials, access to an outdoor VIP lounge with a dedicated bar, food trucks, VIP-only entrance, private merch tent, and so much more.

Overall Neon Desert Music Festival was fun and packed with plenty of memorable moments – it can’t wait to see what they have in store for next year as they will be celebrating their 10^th anniversary, I guess we’re just gonna have to wait and see!